Dealing with Smartstrand Carpet

[Steve Lawrence]

Seems you need a good acid rinse to return this fiber to its original softness and luster.

Do you have a good system for cleaning Smartstrand?

I would like to find a good detergent for it--possibly acidic.

 

[KevinD]

Smartstrand only cleans up well if a herd of Elephants lived on it.

 

[Cleanworks]

Smartstrand only cleans up well if a herd of Elephants lived on it.

Or rhinos's like Max

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Mark Saiger, what do you do? How 'bout you Jim P.?

 

[Jim Pemberton]

There are a couple of schools of thought on Smartstrand, or PPT.

Its oil loving characteristics make it hold onto surfactants as well oily soils. If you aren't getting it in a grossly soiled state (good luck on that...), non surfactant cleaners like Cleanfree and Procyon products are good choices. The idea is that you won't be leaving another oily residue (surfactant) to cling to the fiber.

(No, an acid rinse won't do much to break that bond)

The other way is to just drop your high pH nuclear bomb prespray of choice on it, and use mechanical preconditioning tools or rotary jet extractors to help break up the oil bonds. Some find that olefin fiber preconditioning products work well here too.

Don't have "nylon cleaning expectations" with this product though.

 

[Mike Draper]

Sometimes I reminisce about the good ol days in the early 80’s where even the cheap apartment carpet cleaned up like a magical potion was set upon it. I would be the hero every single job with the tools I have now and the carpet of yesterday.

 

[Mikey P]

Just clean like normal.


But improve your "Sorry Mam" speach..

 

[Jim Pemberton]

If there was any possible way to make carpet a less attractive floor option than hard floors, the carpet manufacturers have found it in PPT (Smartstrand) and PET (polyester)

 

[hogjowl]

This is when Yocum, Tsao or Nehei would show up trying to be a guru, back on ICS

 

[Jimmy L]

That's where Prochem's ULTRAPACK EXTREME WITH NANO-TECHONOLOGY comes in.

SPRAY IT.........RINSE IT...........AND GIT ON DOWN THE ROAD

 

[Dolly Llama]

Hammer it with nuke juice
Crank the heat as hot you can make

This is one place where I’ve found mega heat TMs (240+) helps



..L.T.A.

 

[Mike Draper]

Just clean like normal.


But improve your "Sorry Mam" speach..

I usually give this speech before I start so I can set realistic expectations. As well, then they don’t think I’m making excuses for shoddy work when I’m finished and it still looks like shit.

 

[Hack Attack]

high pH high heat boosted with a solvent but explain it will resoil faster than most carpets because it loves oil

nothing to do with the solvent spike of course

 

[Jim Pemberton]

That's where Prochem's ULTRAPACK EXTREME WITH NANO-TECHONOLOGY comes in.

SPRAY IT.........RINSE IT...........AND GIT ON DOWN THE ROAD

“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around!”

 

[Loren Egland]

Hammer it with nuke juice
Crank the heat as hot you can make

This is one place where I’ve found mega heat TMs (240+) helps



..L.T.A.

I usually turn the heat down on olefin and polyester. Less likely to have pile distortion (I cause)

 

[Mark Saiger]

Mark Saiger, what do you do? How 'bout you Jim P.?

Seriously Nuke it and already know to start telling the clients this carpet might make us look like we have never cleaned carpets in our life!

Code Red with Harvard Chemical GForce booster and even sometimes if last ditch through a scoop or two of Tsumani in it... But again the cheap versions of this are trouble.

Don't accept responsibility for their choice to go cheap on their carpet choice.

We also have some local carpet stores who are great at deterring people from purchasing it and won't stock the cheap cheap stuff

 

[Mark Saiger]

Also we will do a white rag test for clients with a spotter or De-limone to show there are no soils remaining.... And you cannot clean wear.

Just make sure you do have it clean so no soils transfer!

 

[randy]

This is when Yocum, Tsao or Nehei would show up trying to be a guru, back on ICS

bragging about reporting a competitor for dumping waste water on site.
I wonder what happen to those guys.

 

[Rick J]

If there was any possible way to make carpet a less attractive floor option than hard floors, the carpet manufacturers have found it in PPT (Smartstrand) and PET (polyester)

PPT PET
should be PUKE!!!

 

[Rick J]

PET after clean

upstairs bedroom . Rest of the place looked new. Used to seeing this, unfortunately.

And also on this stuff , often chemical damage looking like pink/purple irridescence, not correctable.

 

[BIG WOOD]

PET after clean

upstairs bedroom . Rest of the place looked new. Used to seeing this, unfortunately.

And also on this stuff , often chemical damage looking like pink/purple irridescence, not correctable.

View attachment 93149

They’re pulling that crap up and discovering nice hardwood from the idiot baby boomer generation.

So I’m turning the average $150-200 3-4bedroom job into a $500-$750 hardwood job

 

[Cleanworks]

It seems some people, even some retailers are confusing P.E.T carpet with pet stain resistant carpet. I recently had a customer who was claiming he had pet proof carpet and that it had a special backing that prevented liquids from passing through. I pulled up a corner and it was just a regular backing. He was sold or assumed it was pet proof.

 

[revitalize]

It seems some people, even some retailers are confusing P.E.T carpet with pet stain resistant carpet. I recently had a customer who was claiming he had pet proof carpet and that it had a special backing that prevented liquids from passing through. I pulled up a corner and it was just a regular backing. He was sold or assumed it was pet proof.

The backing is Shaw's Lifeguard Backing which your customer didn't get.

 

[Mark Saiger]

Some Poly today...

Best it's gonna be for what it is...

 

[hogjowl]

Excuses

 

[steve_64]

Seems you need a good acid rinse to return this fiber to its original softness and luster.

Do you have a good system for cleaning Smartstrand?

I would like to find a good detergent for it--possibly acidic.

I use prochems all fiber rinse and flush the Crap out of it to remove the prespray. Traffic lanes can still be crunchy feeling sometimes though. I tell the custy to vac it once it's dry to soften it back up.

 

[Mikey P]

They’re pulling that crap up and discovering nice hardwood from the idiot baby boomer generation.

So I’m turning the average $150-200 3-4bedroom job into a $500-$750 hardwood job

View attachment 93158 View attachment 93159

The dirt dragon fills tackless holes too?

 

[BIG WOOD]

The dirt dragon fills tackless holes too?

The dirt dragon was left in the truck on this job. The scratches were too deep to use the Tykoat method. I had to do a screening 150 to get deep in those scratches. No cleaning was needed. Just screen, tac, slap on a couple coats of finish